The Best Red-Sauce Scenes in Movie History

Chefs and diners are fascinated by old-school red sauce Italian cuisine these days—just look at the newly opened Carbone and the whole Torrisi empire. Italian-American classics, from lasagna to Lobster Fra Diavolo, were once seen as the unrefined food of immigrants, but now those same plates are considered hot dishes to resurrect and refine.

There is no better place to unearth the history and nuances of saucy Italian-American fare than mob flicks and other movies that embrace the power of a good spaghetti-and-meatballs feast. In Goodfellas, Scorcese humanizes the otherwise monstrous characters in the film through meaty, saucy breadcrumby, cheesy Italian food. What’s more, a few of these movies hash out the recipe for classic dishes, including an excellent sounding Sunday gravy recipe from Capo Peter Clemenza in The Godfather.

Grab a plate of veal Milanese and check out our top picks for red-sauce scenes in movie history.

The Timpano in Big Night (1996)

About the film: Secondo (played by Stanley Tucci) and his brother Primo try to save their failing restaurant.
On the table: Four shaky hands remove the mold from a Timpano, “a pasta with a special crust shaped like a drum. And on the inside is all of the most important things in the world,” explains Tucci's character. In other words, a layered, baked Italian pasta pie. When the Timpano is placed in front of a competing restaurateur, he exclaims, “This is so fucking good, I should kill you.”

Prison dinner in Goodfellas (1990)

About the film: Director Martin Scorsese uses food and cooking to humanize the monstrous characters depicted in this extraordinary gangster flick. The film follows the rise and fall of the Lucchese crime family from 1955 to 1980.
On the table: Gangsters Henry Hill, Vinny, and Paul “Paulie” Cicero prepare dinner in prison. Because these “wise guys” own the joint, they get the finest ingredients to prepare a serious red sauce feast. Using a razor blade, Cicero slices garlic so thin that it would "liquefy in the pan with just a little oil." Also on the menu: lobsters, seared steak, red wine, Scotch, and pasta sauce that's just a bit too oniony.

Al fresco feasting in Mafioso (1962)

About the film: Nino, who works as a supervisor at a Fiat factory in Milan, travels to his hometown in Sicily with his wife and two daughters. While home, Nino gets sucked into some shady business involving the small village’s capo di tutti capi (“the boss of all bosses”).
On the table: An elaborate al fresco meal of fried eggplant, fried swordfish steaks, and octopus ink-flavored pasta is prepared for Nino and his family upon their arrival. Nino’s snooty Northern Italian wife, Marta, doesn’t know what to make of the excessive amounts of food and her husband’s boisterous family.

Making Sunday gravy in The Godfather (1972)

About the film: The head of the New York Corleone crime family intends for his son, Michael (Al Pacino), to become part of the "business."
On the table: Capo Peter Clemenza teaches Michael how to make Sunday gravy. "Start out with a little bit of oil. Then you fry some garlic, then you throw in some tomatoes, tomato paste—you fry it, make sure it doesn’t stick—then you get it to a boil and you shove in all your sausage and your meatballs. Add a little bit of wine and a little bit of sugar, and that’s my trick."

Fixing a slice in Do the Right Thing (1989)

About the film: During the hottest day of the summer in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, tensions are on the rise. Mookie (played by Spike Lee) works as a delivery boy at Sal’s Pizzeria, but he doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with his Italian-American employers.
On the table: When Sal, owner of Sal’s Pizzeria, hands Buggin Out his slice, Buggin Out isn’t pleased. “Yo, Sal. Put some cheese on that motherfucker, man,” he pleads. When Sal refuses, he rectifies the situation by pouring Parmesan cheese from the shaker all over his slice. Bonus trivia: In the scene, Buggin Out is wearing 1989 White Cement IV sneakers.

Romantic spaghetti slurping in Lady and the Tramp (1955)

About the film: Lady, a pampered golden cocker spaniel, meets up with a mongrel dog who calls himself Tramp.
On the table: The two pooches go to Tony’s Restaurant, “the very place for a very special occasion.” When the owner sees that Tramp is with his Lady friend, he sends out something special for the love-struck pups: “two spaghetti speciale, heavy on the meats-a-ball.” We know it’s animated, but that’s one of the best-looking plates of spaghetti and meats-a-balls we’ve seen outside of Bamonte’s.

The tennis racket hack in The Apartment (1960)

About the film: C.C. Baxter, a typical wage slave, tries to get ahead at his company by loaning out his apartment to top executives.
On the table: In an act of pure genius, Jack Lemmon strains a pot of spaghetti through a tennis racket while preparing dinner for elevator operator Shirley MacLaine. MacLaine says, “You’re pretty good with that racket,” to which Lemmon replies, “Wait 'til you see me serve the meatballs!” He delicately spoons homemade meatballs around the plated spaghetti, then serves it to his woman.

The spaghetti tornado in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

About the film: Aspiring inventor Flint Lockwood is a socially awkward genius who dreams of creating something that will improve everyone’s life.
On the table: A tornado made out of spaghetti and dotted with meatballs threatens the town of Chewandswallow. Lockwood is confident he can stop the tornado, so he runs towards it, getting pulled into the twister and spat back out. Not to worry, the crafty inventor eventually saves the day.

Chefs and diners are fascinated by old-school red sauce Italian cuisine these days—just look at the newly opened Carbone and the whole Torrisi empire. Italian-American classics, from lasagna to Lobster Fra Diavolo, were once seen as the unrefined food of immigrants, but now those same plates are considered hot dishes to resurrect and refine.
There is no better place to unearth the history and nuances of saucy Italian-American fare than mob flicks and other movies that embrace the power of a good spaghetti-and-meatballs feast. In Goodfellas, Scorcese humanizes the otherwise monstrous characters in the film through meaty, saucy breadcrumby, cheesy Italian food. What's more, a few of these movies hash out the recipe for classic dishes, including an excellent sounding Sunday gravy recipe from Capo Peter Clemenza in The Godfather.
Grab a plate of veal Milanese and check out our top picks for red-sauce scenes in movie history.

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